Trying To Survive
by Military Mechanic
Summary: It is a time of suffering for the Clans, when nothing makes sense. Not life. Not death. Not the creatures that have invaded their forest home. Leaders turn to medicine cats, medicine cats turn to StarClan, and StarClan? StarClan can do nothing to stop this madness. They can only hope that their kin will survive.
1. Prologue

A/N: yes, i finally wrote for something aside from FMA. amazing, right? anwho, saying this now, don't freak out. the prologue is down below the character list.

so, i hope this turns out okay. it's my first time writing for this fandom, though i'm fairly experienced when it comes to other fandoms. meaning Fullmetal Alchemist. that means that i would love any sort of comment or critique!

* * *

**ThunderClan -**

Leader - Rainstar: a broad-shouldered, dark grey tom. He has lighter gray dapples and white forepaws. Light green eyes. (formerly Rainspot)

Deputy - Stormslash: a stocky, dark grey tom. He has barely visible tabby stripes and dark green eyes. His pelt is littered with many, many scars some of which have forever striped the fur from his body. (formerly Slash)

Medicine Cat - Frostsight - a pure white tom with hazed over blue eyes. (blind since birth)

Warriors -

Mousedusk: a light grey she-cat with perpetually rumpled fur. She has white on her paws and underbelly, and dark blue eyes.

Birdflight - a slender, dark brown tom. Both forepaws and his ears are black, and his eyes a light green.

Lilysong - a dark cream she-cat with white dapples. She has bright blue eyes.

Paintedmoth - a small, tortoishell she-cat. She is mostly grey and black, though the cream and ginger is still dominant. Bright green eyes.

Swallowstrike - a slender, long-limbed, light grey tom. He has darker grey tabby stripes and dark amber eyes.

Wrenclaw - a white tom with brown patches. He has light amber eyes and very sharp claws.

Applepetal - a bright ginger she-cat with white dapples. The tips of both ears are also white and she has bright green eyes.

Deerleap - a light brown she-cat with white dapples. All four paws and the tips of her ears are also white and she has very long legs.

Briarleaf - a slender, light brown tabby she-cat with dark green eyes. Her left front paw is white.

Crickethop - a lanky, dusty brown tom. He has darker brown tabby stripes and very long legs.

Adderfang: A dark brown tabby tom with almost black tabby stripes. He has sharp amber eyes and a white muzzle.

Thornpelt: A golden-brown tom with darker brown patches. Light green eyes.

Apprentices -

Runningpaw: A small, reddish-brown tom. He has black tabby stripes. Halfway down his legs, the fur turns to black. All four paws are white. He has large, doe-brown eyes. (mentor - Swallowstrike)

Leap-paw: A lanky, dark brown she-cat. She has barely noticable tabby stripes and white paws. Large, dark amber eyes. (mentor - Rainstar)

Wisp-paw: A long furred, silver she-cat. Very small but has wide, green eyes. (mentor - Paintedmoth)

Thistlepaw: A light brown tom with four white paws. The tip of his tail is white, and his eyes are light amber. (mentor - Adderfang)

Robinpaw: A sleek, dark brown she-cat. Her underbelly, throat, chest, and front legs are white. She has light blue eyes. (mentor - Frostsight)

Queens -

Mintfrost: A small, grey she-cat with white paws and a white tail tip. Light amber eyes. (expecting)

Goldensplash: A golden-brown she-cat with a large white patch on her face. Dark green eyes. (Cloudkit, Sunkit, Wingkit, and Oriolekit)

Elders -

Ashpool: An aged, dark grey tom. His fur is know streaked with white and he is beginning to go blind. Once a medicine cat.

**WindClan**

Leader - Harestar: A lithe tom with a tan pelt. He has a large scar running the length of his left flank and dark green eyes. (formerly Harestep)

Deputy - Boulderfang: A stocky, black tom. He has dark green eyes.

Medicine Cat - Embercloud: A long-legged she-cat with bright ginger fur. Both back paws and her right forepaw is white, as is her muzzle. Light blue eyes.

Warriors -

Rabbitfoot: A small, tawny she-cat with very long legs. Dark green eyes.

Gorsestripe: A light brown tabby tom. Both back paws are dark brown and his eyes are light amber.

Aspenleaf: Dark brown she-cat with light brown dapples. Wide, dark blue eyes.

Brackentwist: A light brown tom with barely there tabby stripes. Light amber eyes.

Shrew-whisker: Small, light brown she-cat. She has black ear tips, a black tail tip, and a single black paw. Dark amber eyes.

Eagleflight: A sleek, dark brown she-cat with a white underbelly and chest. Light blue eyes.

Hawkfeather: A slender, dark brown she-cat with rather long fur and a white underbelly. Light blue eyes.

Whitemist: A pure white she-cat with long, wispy fur. She has bright green eyes.

Russetwing: A deep ginger tom with very long legs. All four paws are white and his eyes are dark amber.

Smokeheart: A dark grey tabby tom. Light green eyes.

Littlestep: A small, sickly looking silver she-cat. She has a very gaunt figure and wide, green eyes.

Apprentices -

Sandpaw: Tawny she-cat with white dapples. Dark amber eyes. (mentor - Whitemist)

Ashpaw: Light grey tom with darker grey tabby stripes. Light amber eyes. (mentor - Brackentwist)

Berrypaw: Sleek, cream she-cat with lighter cream dapples and ear-tips. Dark green eyes. (mentor - Eagleflight)

Queens -

Blackpetal: A pure black she-cat with light amber eyes. (Firekit and Nightkit)

Elders - none

**RiverClan -**

Leader - Silverstar: A long-legged silver she-cat with a single white forepaw. Light blue eyes. (formerly Silvercloud)

Deputy - Sootpelt: A dark grey tom with long fur. He has light amber eyes.

Medicine Cat - Poppystream: A calico she-cat, with mostly ginger and black fur. She has light blue eyes.

Warriors -

Darkfrost: A black tom. He's muzzle, throat, and chest are all white and he has dark green eyes.

Pebblefoot: A small, wirey grey she-cat. Light green eyes.

Morningshine: Slender, cream she-cat with light blue eyes. She is deaf in her right ear, which is mostly shredded.

Ripplefur: Dark grey tom with light amber eyes.

Honeysplash: A light ginger and white she-cat. Dark green eyes.

Tinypool: A small, lanky dark brown she-cat. She has four black paws, along with black tufts of fur on her ears. Large, light amber eyes.

Iceshade: A stocky white tom. He has dark grey and black dapples smattered across his pelt, thickening up the closer they get to his hindpaws.

Apprentices -

Willowpaw: a white she-cat with light grey splotches and dark green eyes. (mentor - Poppystream)

Cloverpaw: A light brown she-cat with darker brown tabby stripes. Bright amber eyes. (mentor - Tinypool)

Owlpaw: A dark brown and grey patched tom, with very large ears. Dark green eyes. (mentor - Morningshine)

Queens -

Brookheart: A silver she-cat with white dapples. Light green eyes. (Stormkit, Silverkit, and Thymekit)

Greyrain: An ageing she-cat with light grey fur. She has tired, dark amber eyes. (expecting)

Flowerstrike: A large, stocky ginger, cream, and white splotched she-cat. Light green eyes. (Gingerkit and Black-kit)

Creekflower: A dark grey she-cat with black tabby stripes. Light green eyes. (Snowkit, Fogkit, Rainkit, and Mistkit)

Elders -

Troutsplash - An old, grey tom. He has dulled, green eyes and a pelt littered with many scars.

**ShadowClan** -

Leader - Moss-star: Dark grey she-cat with a white underbelly. Light amber eyes. (formerly Mossheart)

Deputy - Marshclaw: A mottled, brown tom with dark amber eyes.

Medicine Cat - Goldensong: Lithe, pale ginger she-cat with light green eyes.

Warriors -

Beetlewing: Bulky, dark grey tom with dark amber eyes.

Speckleflower: A light grey she-cat with darker grey speckles. Light green eyes.

Hollybranch: A muscular, black she-cat. Dark green eyes.

Quailtalon: A dark brown tom with lighter brown dapples. Light amber eyes.

Bluepetal: A blue-grey she-cat with a white underbelly and chest. Dark amber eyes.

Cloudpelt: A white she-cat with a black forepaw and black ear-tips. Dark blue eyes.

Blackstorm: A pitch black tom with rather long legs. Dark green eyes.

Cinderfrost: A light grey she-cat with a white underbelly, chest, and throat. Light blue eyes.

Reedwhisker: Slender, dark grey tom with a white hindpaw. Dark blue eyes.

Apprentices -

Echopaw: A small, silver she-cat with wide, amber eyes. (mentor - Marshclaw)

Dustpaw: A light brown tabby tom with bright green eyes. (mentor - Cinderfrost)

Thistlepaw: A light grey tom with four black paws, and black ear-tips. Dark green eyes. (mentor - Hollybranch)

Queens -

Chillpelt: A white she-cat with light silver dapples. Light green eyes. (Stonekit, Leafkit, and Twigkit)

Elders - none

-x-x-x-

"This way!" Cloudshine calls, tail twitching slightly as he leads his fellow StarClan cats through the dense underbrush.

Around them, the air is thick. Mist, pure and silver in color, surrounds them. It creeps through the bracken and around the tendrils of ivy that grab at the Clan's paws, rising up and laying across the star-filled land like a sheet. It helps bring silence to the multitude of pawsteps thundering behind Cloudshine.

Hundreds of cats, pelts scattered through with tiny lights, treck across the forest. It is a path seldom traveled, into land almost forbidden.

A land ruled over by Fable, created by Legend, and protected by Myth.

"Are we almost there?" a ginger tom questions, light green eyes flicking to the path ahead. In the distance, he can see a tunnel of briars and vines begin to form. Something so unnatural but, in this strange place, almost boring in its normality.

To his left something hisses - and the group as a whole moves closer to their guide, who sends an irritated look over his shoulder.

"Quiet!" he growls, light amber eyes narrowing at the once proud leader. "No questions, Firestar!"

Firestar flattens his ears, then does his best to move closer to the middle of the crowd. Sometimes he forgets that, in this place, he holds no stock what so ever. No cat does, really, until the read the Pool.

The rest of the walk takes place in silence, as Cloudshine leads the Clan closer to the nature-made tunnel. Then inside of it - and everything goes dark and cold, as though they are walking deep inside the earth itself. Fur bristles and they do their best to speed up, to leave the place that seems to draw the very warmth from their hearts.

"Run!" Cloudshine yowls suddenly, and as he bursts foreward the Clan surges behind him.

_Do not get left behind_, they tell themselves, _do not stop until you are once more in the light_.

And then they are free, bursting into a clearing devoid of all plant life. Devoid of anything, actually, save a pool so unclear that nothing can be seen in it. Beneath their paws, the grass is brown and brittle.

As always, Cloudshine leads the way up to the pool - and then every cat is fighting for a spot at its bank, trying to peer into the liqued storm-cloud.

_Silence._

_Silence._

_Silence - _even as numerous paws crush the dried grass, push and shove and hiss at each other. In this world, they can make no noise. Only the Pool of Voices can speak. Only it can enlighten them as to why they have been summouned, what prophecy they must give their living kin.

Without warning, the water clears until every cat's face is reflected in it. There is a flash of light - then piercing screams, as every bird they have ever caught and slain and eaten cries out their final breath. The very moment it ends, and the cats begin to pull themselves together, a soft and melodic voice fills the air.

"When hope fails, the Clans will blame the storm, which has already swept many away. This is something that StarClan cannot change. During the moons after, lost and confused, they will face trials the likes of which our forest has never seen before. This is unavoidable." the voice seems to sing, voice rippling and changing with each word. "When the shadows form fangs that snare from the darkness, they will despair. Six must step up and lead, the rest must follow loyally. Only then can our Clans survive. Choose well, Leaders of Thunder, Wind, River, and Shadow, and send your messages soon...for when the dawn comes, there will be nothing more we can do."

Once more, silence fills the empty clearing. Only this time? This time, it brings with it a feeling of dread.


	2. A Word Of Warning

A/N: thank you everyone, for your wonderful reviews. i'm so glad to see that people like this! it really gave me the inspiration to get this second chapter written up right away, and i hope that you all enjoy it just as much as the first one.

as always, reviews are wonderful things and i would love to read some. :D

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_StarClan is a wretched thing, _Frostsight thinks as he blinks away the haze in his vision, _giving me this and then taking it away._

As he rises to his paws, the fog over his eyes lifts. First showing a glimpse of white and silver, blurred together into unrecognizable shapes.

When he blinks again, the shapes take a more distinct form. Thick, cylinders that rise from the ground, branching out into thinner tendrils at the top. Small, malformed shapes scatter the ground. In the far distant, something large and smooth sits.

Another blink and his vision gets clearer yet. Now he can see the different colors, the pristine shapes. He finds himself in a forest of pine and oak, with fallen yet still green leaves beneath his paws. Every few feet lays a rock, surface jagged and uneven, leading up to the largest shape in the star-filled land.

A stone. White in color and smooth around, nearly three fox-lenghts tall. It is a perfect semi-circle and so unnatural looking.

Like everything in this place, the very image brings a bitter taste to his mouth. He draws his upper lip back in a snarl, white ears twitching slightly as he strains to catch a noise in the otherwise silent world. When he doesn't hear anything, he narrows his now clear blue eyes in anger.

"Come out, Brightpetal!" he snarls. "I know you're here."

Another lapse of silence, and then a gentle purr fills the forest. At the foot of the Smooth Stone, a light-pelted she-cat stands up. Her fur is scattered with starshine, making the ginger and cream dapples on her otherwise white pelt seem to glow. She blinks her light green eyes and tilts her head, giving him a warm look.

"Frostsight. I'm glad that you came." she says, padding over to him. Several tail-lengths from the white tom she takes a seat, sparsly colored tail wrapping around her forepaws.

"Of course I came!" Frostsight snarls back at her, tail lashing behind him. "I had too! You wouldn't have let me just sleep through your summoning, would you Brightpetal?"

"No, I guess that I wouldn't have." she finally admits. "But I'm still glad that you sought me out instead of my sister. Honeyblossom is in a rather sore mood tonight. I doubt you two would get along."

The white tom doesn't stop glaring at her, though he does take his own seat. There is no doubt in his mind that he wouldn't have gotten along should he have stumbled on Honeyblossom first. He never gets along with the other she-cat, who cannot understand why he is so bitter.

But then, as far as he has been able to figure out, the two sisters lived a good life. Both medicine cats at one point, both with a happy kit-hood, niether with any regrets. They lived their life to the fullest - and when they made it to StarClan, they were just given more freedom. More praise. More love.

Frostsight _cannot stand it_. He cannot stand _them_.

So he lashes his tail again and stares her down, growling out a single question, "What do you want, Brightpetal."

For a moment, the former medicine cat merely stares at him. Her light green eyes seem to soften, taking in every last aspect of him. The stark white pelt, the crisp blue eyes, the hatred that seems to exude from him. She pities this cat, though she doesn't say so. Never will, never have, cannot find the words to do so. Instead, she closes her eyes and lets the message of Thunder wash through her.

"When the rain fades away, your Clan will be left to stand on their own. No cat to guide them, in health or in hunting. You must step up and lead - or sit back and perish." Brightpetal meows, melodic voice gone deep. "Choose, Frostsight, and never go back on your choice. And watch the feathers, kit, or you may just miss them."

Frostsight mouths the words to himself, then wrinkles his nose. There is no doubt in his mind that the fading rain stands for his leader but the rest...

"Frostsight." Brightpetal says again, opening her light green eyes. "You have to remember my words. Please, don't let your ha-"

And then she is gone, leaving behind nothing but a silver mist. For a moment, the mist swirls in place, there but not there. Then it jerks backwards, as though pulled by an invisible force, and dissapears into the Smooth Stone.

Frostsight is left with a strange feeling of dread that bubbles in his chest. He blinks, and just like that the scene before him starts to waver. Colors merge and shapes blur, as the world steadily begins to grow darker.

Darker.

Darker.

Darker - black, all black. Everywhere he looks. Just solid emptyness. And he knows that, in a few moments, he will wake up in his nest. The dream world of StarClan will be left behind and, once more, he will be doomed to a word of perpetual night.

_Wretched things,_ he thinks to himself, _those StarClan cats._

-x-x-x-

"Mother? What's wrong?" Goldensong asks, tilting her head slightly.

Across from her, the elder cat merely flicks the tip of her tail. A signal for silence, one that the two cats developed long ago, when Goldensong was nothing more than a kit. Though she's worried, Goldensong doesn't disobey.

She pads closer to the ginger pelted StarClanner, her own pale ginger paws sinking into the bed of soft moss beneath her. The clearing they are in smells of heather and water, a heady mix that reminds her so much of the elder's den back in ShadowClan. It tickles her nose slightly, though she doesn't complain.

Doesn't say anything for what seems like an impossibly long time, as her mother stares at her with dark green eyes. They seem to swirl, pulling in the light of the stars and the dark of the shadows, giving a clear warning sign.

_trouble is brewing. danger and bloodshed will soon be here._

That's what they say, and Goldensong knows that as though the words were actually said.

"Goldensong." Amberpelt eventually says, and her voice is heavy with grief. "My dear daughter...I'm sorry to bring you such horrid news, kit."

"What do you mean, bad news?" Goldenrain asks. A strong wind picks up, ruffling her pale ginger fur and chilling her very soul. It promises death, this wind, death and destruction.

"Beware the prey, Goldensong, for this forest is about to change. Stand strong, my kit, and help your Clan to do the same. Help them to do what ShadowClan hasn't been able to do before - stand on their own paws." the older she-cat says, and her dark green eyes are suddenly blank. As empty as the clearing around them is. "And watch for the flowers to bloom, for when their inner beauty is finally seen then we may see the dawn."

Then she blinks and her eyes clear, once more nothing but a deep shade of green. Amberpelt rises to her paws, which are the same faded shade of red as her daughters fur, and tilts her head. Twitches her ears. Then turns and leaves - because she cannot say anything else. Not now. Not until this ordeal is done and over with, when StarClan can once more help guide the Clans.

Goldensong doesn't understand why her mother doesn't stay longer.

-x-x-x-

It is a relief to find herself dreaming of StarClan. The last few moons have been long and tiring for Embercloud, whose paws have been moving almost nonstop. Day after day she has tended to her Clan, trying hard to keep them all alive. To heal their injuries and their illnesses - and, oh, there have been so many who needed her help.

But here, out in the moor, Embercloud feels free. Around her, the star-streaked dunes give off the faintest bit of heat. Above her, Silverpelt shines without fail, guiding her through the dream world.

Oh, she knows that she's here for a reason. Juniperleaf never calls her without a reason, after all. In that moment though, Embercloud doesn't care. She is just glad to be back here, in the land of her ancestors, once more.

Embercloud takes her time crossing the near-barren land, relishing in the feel of a gentle breeze blowing through her fur.

_So peaceful,_ she thinks to herself_, just like it always is._

"Almost done, Embercloud?" an amused voice calls from behind her.

The she-cat gives a purr in answer. "I guess I have to be, now that you're here. Tell me that you have good news, Juniperleaf?"

When she turns around, the frail hope for peace she had been clinging to shatters. The dark tabby tom is looking at her, gaze serious and bobbed tail drooping to the best of its capabilities.

"I'm sorry, but no." he tells her. "But I have a warning for you, Embercloud. Remember it well."

"A warning?" the medicine cat echoes, then her eyes widen as the moor itself seems to change. One by one, the stars begin to blink out until, both above and below, she is surrounded by nothing but empty space. The gentle warmth beneath her paws vanishes, replaced instead with a chilling cold.

"Two of a kind, yet so different. Like they are enemies and not kin. One is to be trusted, one will lead only to destruction." Juniperleaf tells her, and he is backing away as he speaks. "Beware, Embercloud, and don't let your duties to your Clan blind you. Sometimes, the unexpected will be your only saviour.

The moment the last word leaves his maw, the stars on his pelt vanish as well and he is gone.

Suddenly, Embercloud finds her dream world to be less then comforting.

-x-x-x-

"Sunflash." she meows, dipping her head slightly in respect.

The golden-pelted tom does not return the gesture. Just stares at her with hard, blue eyes. Silent and imposing, just like he had been in life. Just as he always will be.

Poppystream shifts from paw to paw, each step sending a ripple through the shallow creek they are standing in. "You called?"

Again, the former deputy does nothing but stare. He has his doubts about all of this. These warnings that they are giving out, this _prophecy_ that StarClan has been given. The cats that the original leaders chose for this mission...they aren't ready for this.

They aren't leaders.

Aren't healers.

Aren't protecters.

Just normal cats - two of which have not even been revealed yet.

And Poppystream, she is looking up at him such complete trust in her eyes. Even though he never comes to her with good news, she doesn't hate him for it. Just trusts that his warnings will be enough to save her Clan.

The truth? He doesn't even know what his warning means.

"The Clans may think that they have seen the worst of the storms, but they are wrong. When the wind begins to once more claw at the ground, a choice must be made. Run and die at the claws of a huntress. Or stay, and be swept away in the tides." he finally tells her. "Poppystream, you must help your Clan make a choice. And you must help the grounded bird take flight."

The calico she-cat before him opens her mouth to speak but, before she does, Sunflash flicks his tail - and she vanishes back to the world of the living, leaving him to his own guilt.


	3. The First Strike

A/N: Hello everyone! Here's the third chapter for my story, and I hope that you all enjoy it! Any sort of a review will be more than thankfully recieved, as I'm always trying to improve. :D

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"When the rain fades away, your Clan will be left to stand on their own. No cat to guide them, in health or in hunting. You must step up and lead - or sit back and perish." Brightpetal meows, melodic voice gone deep. "Choose, Frostsight, and never go back on your choice. And watch the feathers, kit, or you may just miss them."

"Cricekthop, Swallowstrike, and Lilysong. I want the three of you to take border patrol, out by ShadowClan." says Stormslash, eyes dancing across the group of cats gathered before him. "Adderfang, Paintedmoth, you two can take your apprentices out for a hunting patrol."

The two groups of cats nod and slip away, disappearing into the dawn-spattered camp. Stormslash thinks that he catches sight of Adderfang heading towards the apprentice's den, but Paintedmoth is gone from his sight.

So he turns and faces the cats still grouped before him.

It is a small batch, but they are still strong, still full of life. Leaf-bare is over now, and with it the threat of green cough. Like every twelve moons, ThunderClan will recover. They will thrive.

"I want the rest of you to split the remaining duties. The elders must be fed, and Frostsight says that his stock of herbs is running dangerously low. Someone needs to accompany him and Robinpaw while they're out." orders the deputy, and everyone listens and nods and then disappears, gratefuly that they're morning orders are over with.

Stormslash knows that they don't appreciate him waking them up at dawn every morning, but he can see no other way of making sure that everything is done. After he started these dawn-meetings, life in the Clan began to run smoothly again, even as Rainstar ceased to leave his nest completely.

With the guidance of the broad-shouldered tom, ThunderClan began to live again.

So he ignores their grumbles and calls them out every morning, orders them every morning, lets them turn their hatred onto him instead of their sickly leader. That's what a loyal deputy does, after all, and Stormslash is more than just loyal.

That's why, instead of moving towards the fresh-kill pile like the majority of ThunderClan's warriors do, he starts towards the nursury. The bedding, he knows, should be changed that morning.

As always, the briar gaurded den smells of mother's milk and herbs and comfort. A scent that, as a young cat, Stormslash was not privy too. Perhaps that's why he enjoys helping the queens so much? Because it gives him a glimpse of the life that, as the son of rouges, he had never been able to have?

Maybe.

Maybe it's just the way that Mintfrost and Goldensplash look at him, with such trust in their eyes, like there is no doubt in their minds that he will do everything and anything to protect them.

"Good morning, Stormslash." meows Mintfrost, from her spot curled up at the back of the den. Her nest is made of soft moss and feathers, and she is all but buried inside of it, as though she cannot get enough of its warmth. Her grey and white fur is fluffed up as well, like she's cold.

Stormslash gives her a concerned look but, before he can ask her anything, two bundles of white fling themselves at him. Something small and sharp latches onto his right front leg, and kitten fluff slams into his ribs. He gives a soft grunt and lets himself fall down, where two more bundles of fluff leap on him.

"Stormslash! Stormslash!" cries Sunkit, clambering onto the dark grey tom's stomach. The little ginger she-cat plants all four paws firmly ontop of the deputy and her dark green eyes shine in excitement. "Guess what?"

Stormslash gives a purr of amusement, letting the four kits clambering about him for a moment until their mother, Mintfrost, calls them back to the nest. Then he rolls onto his side and flicks his ears in the direction of the sole ginger kit.

"Tell me, Sunkit, what has you so excited today?" he questions her, tilting his head to the side slightly.

"Momma says that I turn six moons in three days, so I get to be an apprentice soon!" cheers Sunkit, and there's such excitement in the little she-cat's voice that it's impossible not to share in on her joy.

"Is that true?" he asks, even though he already knows the answer. Stormslash was in the camp when she was born, after all, and will never forget the joy on Mintfrost's face.

"Yep!" chimes Oriolekit, from his place near Mintfrost's head. "We're going to be warriors!"

Stormslash stands back up and shakes the bits of moss and feather from his dark fur. "And I'm certain that you will all be some of the best warriors ThunderClan has ever seen."

_Once, they called him a danger. Someone not to be trusted. A shadow in the night that would only bring harm, never good, never love, never hope._

_Now? He is all that they have_.

Outside of the nursury, Applepetal is giving the fresk-kill pile a look over. It isn't small, per say, but it is far from full. No where near ready for the onslaught of hungry cats that will soon be rising from the dens and coming to stake a claim on the prey there. Yet she doesn't move to go hunting. Instead, she snatches what she hopes is a plump and juicy squirrel and makes her way towards the group of rocks and ferns that make up the medicine cat den.

"Robinpaw! Frostsight! I brought you breakfast!" she calls, setting the piece of prey down just in front of the wall of ferns. Applepetal never goes inside of the crotchety tom's den without being invited - but then, no one does. Not really.

Silence for a moment, and then the ferns rustle and a sleek, brown head pushes its way through them. The apprentice looks from prey to warrior, then gives a low purr.

"Thanks, Applepetal. I'm starving." Robinpaw says happily, padding the rest of the way out of the den. Her fur is short and sleek, and the early morning light shines on the white that makes up her chest, throat, and belly.

Applepetal waits for a moment, but no othercat leaves the den.

"Is Frostsight not up yet?" she asks, hesitantly.

Robinpaw crouches down in front of the squirrel, and is silent for a very long moment. Then she gives a soft shrug of her shoulders. "He's awake. He's just not...Moving yet."

"Oh." mutters Applepetal, sitting down beside the apprentice.

Everyone knows about Frostsight. About what he thinks of their Clan, what he thinks of StarClan, what he scorns them for. There isn't anything that can be done about it, of course, but the medicine cat seems to hate them all the same.

Sometimes, it worries Applepetal.

_From the very beginning, the Clan worried about Frostsight. What could be done about a cat born blind? Born unable to see dangers or prey or battle moves? What could they do, begged Rainstar, and StarClan answered them._

_In current times, Frostsight scorns his Clan for that decision so many moons ago. For cursing him to a life of partial darkness, partial light, where cats that expect everything from him but give nothing in return rule his every movement and command._

_But he doesn't hate them, not really, and never will._

At this same exact moment, outside of the camp, disaster is striking. It's near ShadowClan but not caused by them, not this time, and Runningpaw is fighting for his life. Only seven moons old, he is still fresh from the nursury, still unused to actually having to fight to survive and kill to live and why is this happening to him?

He cries that question out in his mind as he dodges a large, black paw that is swiped at his head.

He is given no answer. Only searing pain that rakes through his left flank and agony as something clamps down on his tail, two rows of sharp teeth sinking through fur and flesh and muscle and crushing bone.

Runningpaw throws his head up and yowls, paws flailing as he tries to strike out at the strange black creature behind him. Claws hit darkness and then sink in, in, in, _through_, causing no pain and no damage and no harm. Just anger and fury.

Nearby, Swallowstrike is cornered against an oak tree. Blood runs down his pelt, creating tabby stripes made of russet instead of dark grey. His eyes are wild with fear and sorrow and pain, and all he can think about is that he cannot reach his apprentice. Not with two of the strange creatures leering at him, ready to attack.

Crickethop has already fallen; sharp fangs having torn through flesh and ending his life far too soon, before he even had the chance to see his kits become warriors. He didn't suffer though, and Swallowstrike finds some solace in that.

Lilysong, on the other hand, has fallen but not into relief. Her dark cream pelt has been torn into shreds, and blood pools on the forest floor where she lays. They have ruined her, destroyed her, but not killed her, not yet, and there is still a slight rise and fall to her flanks.

From his spot behind two monsters, Swallowstrike is given a front row view of a black creature batting at Runningpaw, dragging out the pain and the torment - and, suddenly, he is moving. The wounded warrior flings himself foreward with his claws out and his fangs bared, shooting inbetween the two monsters in front of him and lunging at the one attacking his apprentice.

As he leaps onto the shadow-monster's back, somehow managing to stay there even when he couldn't before, when he merely passed through and caused no damage, all that he can think is that he will _not_ let them kill Runningpaw.

Even if it costs him his own life, he will save the younger tom.

_And he does that day. The brave warrior falls, and no one is there to see him for both Runningpaw and Lilysong have passed into the world of unconsciousness. No one is there to watch as Swallowstrike is ripped into and maimed, wounded and torn but not killed, not quickly._

_StarClan sees it though, and they are there as a whole to welcome the brave warrior into their ranks once he is finally given the peace of death. They, as a whole, feel regret._


End file.
